Equilibrium
by don't take me seriously
Summary: "a state of rest or balance due to the equal action of opposing forces."
1. Welcome to Republic City

My buddy Destroying Tokyo gave me a prompt: Korra arrived at Republic City and never made it to Tenzin and his family. Since Smirk is a once-a-week at MOST fic, and I've gotten a lot of requests for more, I thought I would use this prompt to start a second, more frequently updating Amorra fic. Warnings. Uh…Amon is a creeper. No sex yet. I'll change the rating as the story goes on. That's about it!

**Equilibrium**

* * *

Earth. Fire.

Water. Air.

_Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked. With the help of his friends, my father, Avatar Aang ended the hundred-year war and founded Republic city, a place where benders and nonbenders could live together in peace. Although Aang's time has now past, Republic city needs its Avatar once more, for only the Avatar can master all four elements and restore balance to the world. But when the world needed her most…she vanished._

* * *

Korra was trying to retrace her steps mentally, like she was looking for some lost object (that object being her understanding), when the person her captors referred to as Amon came in for the first time. A couple of hours ago she had been roasting a fish in the park with a bum. What the hell happened? She was in a solid metal holding cell, and while Korra heard there were metalbenders in this city, she had yet to even meet any of them, so there was no way she was getting out of here any time soon. Hell, not even her airbending teacher, Tenzin, had any idea she was In Republic city, which kinda made her situation ten times worse.

Korra had never heard of chi-blockers, equalists, or anti-bending revolutions. Before she'd stowed away on that boat with Naga- poor Naga, she remembered, and resisted the urge to cry because her best and only friend had been shocked with some strange device before Korra herself had been rendered helpless- before they'd gotten on that boat, all Korra knew was Avatar training and being the best and strongest at everything and pretty much always getting what she wanted.

And now, chained by the arms and kneeling on the floor before this strange masked man, Korra felt completely helpless for the first time in her life.

"So you're the new Avatar," he said in a sinister baritone. "Funny, they've kept you hidden your whole life, and now you've wandered right into me. How convenient for both of us that very few people have seen you…they will be silenced, of course-"

"What do you want?" Korra growled, not one to lose her spunk in the face of adversary. Even if she'd never experienced real danger personally, it was in her spirit not to back down from those sorts of things.

"I want to see you bend," he demanded coldly. "Prove to me a mistake wasn't made."  
"I refuse," Korra said stubbornly, and before she could blink properly he was right before her eyes, nose-to-nose and still taller than her, even when squatting at her level.

"If you don't demonstrate your bending for me…I will make you bend," he all but whispered. Korra wouldn't have been scared, but one of his cronies had disabled her effortlessly, and everything about him screamed terror- his mask, his tone, his build, that strange clothing…the way he said 'bend' even.

"You can't make someone bend," Korra insisted stubbornly, and the one they referred to as Amon grabbed her chin and forced her head to tilt so he could observe her.

"I like you," he finally decided. "You have a sense of righteousness and idealism…but it is sorely misguided. I will teach you the truth of this world we live in. Having the Avatar at my side will be the perfect example to set for the benders who still misunderstand their place in this new republic city.

"I absolutely refuse anything having to do with you! Why would I listen to someone holding me in a metal cell?" Korra quipped angrily. Amon got to his feet and looked down at her, before unhooking a key from his belt and casually unlocking the chains above Korra's head, so that she was released from the ceiling. She collapsed to the floor, chains still clamped to her wrists, and stayed like that, forehead to the floor, almost as though praying.

"What are you thinking, Avatar," Amon said callously. Korra's response was to lash out at his legs with the chains and blast fire towards him, but somehow he sidestepped the attack completely and pinched her arms so that they fell loosely to her sides. In an oddly gentlemanly gesture, he helped her to her feet, where she looked at him with wide blue eyes full of fearful apprehension as he put his large hands on either side of her weakened arms.

"You are a strong bender, but lack discipline. Avatar or not, you will not defeat me in your current state. And if you continue to resist me, I will destroy you without remorse. Restarting the cycle would not endanger my plans so long as the death was not traced back to me."

"What are you planning?" Korra said suspiciously, trying to cover up the shake in her voice, but Amon just shrugged as though her didn't give a damn about anything she was saying.

"Nothing that should concern you right now, young Avatar."

"Then let me go!"

Amon took a step closer to Korra. She'd always been taught to stand her ground against bullies, but Amon didn't stop at just staring her in the face- the hands on her arms started to move places, and his torso pressed against hers-

"How could I let you go when I just got you in my grasp? The Avatar in Republic City, and nobody even knows…I couldn't possibly let you escape now…there are so many things I can use you for-"

Those words hit Korra liked a sack of bricks and she started thrashing. The hand that had been bracing her neck wound its way into her ponytail and twisted her head until the pain of struggling was too intense and she resigned; but Amon didn't stop- he kept twisting her hair until she fell to her knees again with a soft cry of pain, and finally released her. Korra's tender scalp throbbed in pain.

"You have an inappropriate mind, don't you? Are you conceited? Most likely. You are beautiful, but give me some credit. I can hold myself back," he responded carelessly. "Although it is interesting to see how long it take you to become frightened. Far longer than it should. My tests of you keep wielding interesting results."

He must have felt her entire body tense, and even if he didn't he saw the look in her eyes. Nobody outside her family or Katara's had ever told her she was beautiful. At 17 she was a resigned tomboy with more important things to worry about than looks, and this man who seemed to despise her for reasons unknown had just said it like it was a fact of life he expected her to be used to, and was making all sort of implications that he would….go there, for lack of better terms. Shit, Korra didn't know anything about sex. With big, confused eyes, Korra looked up at Amon and bit her trembling lip, until his mostly hidden gaze and the sheer fright factor of his mask became too much and she looked away.

"You do make it hard for me, though" he breathed, voice imbued with amusement now. He twirled the stray bang of Korra's hair that fell between her eyebrows, dragging his finger contemplatively across her forehead. Korra couldn't have stood if she wanted to, because some mixture of fear, dread, and excitement was keeping her glued in place.

"What's that look, Avatar? What happened to that spunky attitude?"  
"Will you let me go?" Korra said in a resigned voice, already knowing the answer.

"No, I don't think I will," Amon whispered. "But for every action I take regarding your place here, I will always give you a choice. That is far more fair than you deserve, so…you should be grateful."

Korra hung her head.

"What about my friends and family. Will you let me see them?"  
"Eventually, young Avatar. Now…some decisions must be made about your quarters. It is unnecessary for you to sleep in a cell, so long as you behave. I will supply you with a mat and pillow and the necessary provisions to make you comfortable."  
Korra took a while to answer. Then-

"Thank you," she said slowly.

_Fucker, I'm busting out of here the second you leave me alone._

"But due to your unbecoming behavior thus far, constant supervision will be required until I deem you trustworthy."

_Then I'm going to act good for a few days and –then- bust the hell out of here- _

"I wonder if you think that rebellious spark in your eye is invisible, Avatar. You aren't being left alone for a long time, and moreover it will be I who supervises you the majority of the time."  
"W-why? Don't you have a whole bunch of cronies-"

"My comrades are not beneath me, Avatar, they are my equals. Despite that, they do not have the proficiency to disable a nearly full-fledged Avatar at any given time. Preparing for the unexpected is my specialty. By the way, are you going to stay on your knees all day, Avatar? If so, I can think of some things for you to do while you're down there," he murmured, and Korra, who had eventually stopped paying attention stuttered and forced herself shakily to her feet.

_The second you let your guard down…Amon…_

"Avatar…what do they call you?"

"Korra." _You bastard._

"Avatar Korra. Welcome to Republic city," Amon said, and walked carelessly from the cell, gesturing for her to follow.


	2. Crumbling Leaf

Earth. Fire.

Water. Air.

_Long ago, benders and nonbenders lived together in harmony, but aftermath of the hundred-year war between nations has tested our fragile equilibrium once more. My father, Avatar Aang, founded Republic City to bring together the four nations and their nonbending allies, but disparity has befallen the population of this metropolis. Although Avatar Aang's time has passed, the cycle has given us a new Avatar, a new hope, for only the Avatar can master all four elements and restore balance. But when the world needed her most…she vanished._

As Amon and Korra walked down the hall and said their greetings to passing equalists (Amon did, anyway, Korra glared at them with all the hate she could muster) she wondered to herself just how many supporters Amon had. It didn't make sense to her, because he was

a. Creepy as hell.

and

b. Didn't make sense (they were talking about benders being oppressive? What?)

She wasn't sure where he was headed, either, because he wouldn't tell her anything. Occasionally she would lag behind and see if he'd notice her absence, and he always did. There was something extremely uncanny about his reflexes and the way he moved. She'd have to be really careful about this.

Finally they reached a room at the end of one of the dark hallways. Amon knocked on the door. It was mostly wooden, with a pane of glass obscured by a set of blinds that only gave vague glimpses into the room.

"Come in," A voice even deeper than Amon's said reluctantly. Amon opened the door and grabbed Korra's arm, pulling her in after him.

"Amon," the man said politely, changing his annoyed tone immediately. Korra was having difficulty understanding where to stand- if she stood next to Amon she'd be claiming she was with him willingly, and if she stood behind him she'd look like she was hiding. Amon solved the puzzle for her by jerking her arm so she stepped in –front- of him. The other man sat at his desk, which was scattered with papers covered in complicated diagrams. His face was masked, like Amon's, but he had a visible and unique looking mustache that drooped from his nose limply.

"Do you know what this girl is," Amon said coldly.

"A waterbender from the looks of it."

"Not just any waterbender."

A pause.

"You've apprehended the Avatar already?"

"It wasn't intentional. She was spotted bending three elements in a street fight by an equalist, and they ambushed her later. Obviously our paths crossed sooner than intended, but this could work in my favor. The triple-threat triad members who saw her have been captured as well. Nobody knows she is here, and she poses little threat to me."

Korra was sick of being talked about like a cowpig in front of these men. So sick, in fact, that she started to blow fire from her nostrils, until Amon clamped his hand over her nose and mouth with a gloved hand.

"You sure about that, Amon?" the deep-voiced man said. "Wouldn't it be easier to just remove-"

"I'm absolutely sure. I have orchestrated a very successful underground organization thus far- that is not to discredit your assistance, of course. A bratty teenaged girl is not a threat to me."

Korra was running out of air and thrashing her head.

"What do you plan to do with her?"

"Indoctrinate her. It won't be difficult." Amon pulled Korra's body towards him with his other arm, and she stopped her attempts to lash out.

"She does seem rather frightened of you. Maybe it's the mask," the unnamed but potentially important man said, head resting on his palm. There was an air of sadism in his voice that Korra despised immediately. "But if you're asking my opinion, you should take the little water moccasin's venom out of her before she bites you. If that's not an option- I do applaud your efforts thus far. I simply wouldn't want to see your plans ruined because of an obstinate child.

On that note, Korra bit Amon's hand hard, since there wasn't much else she could do. He was wearing those thick protective gloves, so it didn't seem to phase him much, his body didn't even tense behind her as her lungs seemed to shrivel in desperation. Amon finally let Korra breathe. She took a huge gasp of air, head spinning.

"Korra will be a good asset to the Equalist organization if I play my cards right. But you understand that I can't divulge everything in her presence."  
"Do you plan to take her with you everywhere?"

"There are a few equalists, you among them, that I feel could deal with her properly in the event I was needed publicly. It is not my intention to treat her poorly- I will not tie her up unless necessary. She will attend meals with you, and meetings too, as time goes on. I feel that it is best she remain by my side for the majority of her stay, until she has proven herself trustworthy."

"And she'll sleep in your bed?" the other asked teasingly. At least, it was probably supposed to sound like a joke to Amon, but Korra choked on her own spit and felt herself tear up a little. Amon had mentioned giving her a bed- he had not said where it would be, and how it fit into the 'constant supervision' requirements.

"The Avatar will be given her own sleeping quarters, but will always be guarded."

"Fair enough."

"By the way, Lieutenant. Have you spoken to Kuno about dinner yet?"

They were making small-talk. What the hell.

"I suppose you missed it while you were tormenting the Avatar. It was a vegetable soup, rice, and chicken-pork. "

It occurred to Korra that they'd have to take their masks off to eat. And sleep. And shower. Or maybe they didn't? Since this conversation was hardly frightening or amusing, Korra started to imagine scenarios in which masks were impractical or funny- the Lieutenant doing his laundry in elemental-print underwear and a mask, Amon taking a shower…with the mask on…great now he was naked- think of something else, Korra-

"Is something funny, Avatar?' a voice hissed in her ear. Both men were now silent. Korra had been laughing out loud at the image of Amon smashing his bowl of chicken-pork into his masked face.

"N-no," Korra said nervously.

"I'm sure there must have been, you seemed quite amused just then."

"I…I was thinking of a funny story about soup, that's all," Korra said lamely. There was an awkward silence, before the Lieutenant bowed his head slightly. Amon's hand braced on her shoulder again.

"You should probably feed her before she gets any more airheaded, Amon."  
"I was planning on it. It's dark anyway- I will feed her soon. Will you be attending?"  
"Already ate early tonight. I have to speak to Hiroshi about his new design- there's a minor flaw in the circuitry that could cause damage to the user against a waterbender. Knowing him, it won't take long to fix."

"Understood, comrade. Send Sato my regards."

"Oh, I will, that nutter. Wouldn't mind catching a glimpse of his daughter either, if you know what I mean."

As much as Korra hated Amon, she was starting to hate this man even more.

Amon led her through the door into the hallway. When they were away from the Lieutenant's office, Korra finally spoke.

"I'm not eating."

"I suppose it's time for me to give you two choices again, Avatar. Eat, or I will pour hot soup down your throat, burning or choking be damned."

Never mind. She still hated Amon the most.

He stopped to talk briefly to an equalist woman and request food. She nodded and hurried away quickly, leaving the two of them alone again. He finally led her into a large room with a long table surrounded by two large and backless benches. Nobody was there for the time being- probably because it was so late. Amon gestured towards a seat in the middle of the table, and Korra took it resentfully. Amon sat next to her rather than across, both a curse and a blessing. On one hand, she didn't have to look at his mask. On the other hand…he was next to her. Again.

A different equalist hurried in with a tray of food, and slid it in front of Korra, who looked at it bitterly as he scurried off.

"Eat," Amon demanded, and Korra lifted the soup to her lips Watertribe style, testing the temperature with the very tip of her tongue. It tasted fine, but she was suddenly feeling rebellious again- why should she have to accept this man's food? She doubted he'd really pour soup on her face in attempt to get her to eat, and he certainly couldn't if there wasn't any soup to force on her, so she did the most spiteful thing she could think of- seized hold of the part of the broth that was water and bent the liquid across the room, so that it splashed all over the wall and dripped down the floor, a few of the vegetables sticking to the wood and sliding down like snails.

Amon said nothing at first, just looked at her. She wasn't returning his eye contact but she could feel that hateful gaze burning into her temple.

His next course of action was to stand up and stretch, bones cracking loudly enough to make Korra nervous. Then he grabbed her by the hair again and yanked her to her feet.

_I'm going to stop wearing my hair like this if he keeps treating it like a doorknob-_

Amon dragged Korra across the room and forced her to face the wet spot on the wall.

"I'm upset," he said simply.

"Are you really? That wasn't my intention," Korra said in a falsely innocent voice. Amon smashed her face into the sopping wall.

"Did you know that the majority of the food Republic City eats comes from rural nonbending families? They get paid a tenth of what an earthbender is paid for their farming labor, and if they do not produce an adequate crop, they are under the constant threat of having their farms taken away and houses burned down. And here you are, throwing away their hard labor for the sake of petty rebellion. Do you feel better, Avatar?"

"No," Korra said quietly, because she hadn't known that, and even if Amon was insane, he seemed pretty dedicated (obsessed more like it) with the rights of nonbenders.

"Do you regret it?" he said softly and ominously.

"Yes," Korra said, hoping that would appease him.

"Then lick it off."

It took a few moments for that to register.  
"W-what? No!" Korra squeaked, and Amon pulled her hair back just enough to smash her cheek into the wall again. Her head throbbed dully. She knew he'd do it as many times as it took, so she stuck her tongue out and brushed it gently against the rough surface of the wall, the salty flavor of soup mingling with the dry musk of cedar. He didn't let her go immediately, so with a resigned look, she dragged her tongue across the surface deliberately, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. His eyes were half-lidded, she couldn't see the rest of his face, but there was definitely something smug there. She squeezed her eyes shut and licked the wall again, as if she were Naga greeting someone affectionately.

_Don't make me do this anymore. Please don't._

She heard him chuckle slightly. She'd never imagined Amon capable of laughing, and at this of all things…but then he relinquished his grip on her hair slowly, the silky strands of her ponytail unwinding from his fingers.

"You're lucky nobody was around to see you humiliate yourself, Avatar. If you continue to embarrass yourself in front of me, or any of my equalists, the punishments will escalate. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Korra said quietly.

"Yes what?"  
"Yes, Amon." She said through gritted teeth.

They returned to the tray with its remaining food. Korra picked up a pair of chopsticks.

"What are you doing, Avatar?" Amon said lazily.

"I'm…finishing…"

"I believe the option was eat or be forced to eat. You made your choice when you wasted food."

The chopsticks were snatched from her fingers, and her chin was cupped so she was looking directly into his eyes. Korra gulped. Amon's free hand seized a piece of chicken with the wooden utensils and glided it towards Korra's face. She clamped her lips shut immediately. He pressed the hot, sticky meat against them and shoved slightly, but Korra wouldn't yield. No way. No way was he going to feed her.

"Open your mouth."  
Korra did so, jaw acting against her screamingly rebellious mind. Perhaps her body was more self-preserving than she was. The savory meat was placed on her tongue, and Amon withdrew the chopsticks. Korra chewed slowly, looking back at him bashfully as he continued to hold her chin and watch the movements of her cheeks, eyes following the food as it glided down her throat before picking up another morsel and pushing it towards her. Korra opened her mouth obediently. They finished the entire meal that way, Amon never looking away from her face, even though Korra tried to avoid his gaze as much as humanly possible.

Then, the embarrassed and somewhat resigned Korra followed Amon down the hall.

"Where now," she said quietly. "I'm tired."

"I will allow you to sleep, but you should shower first. You smell disgusting," he said frankly.

After all, she'd been fighting and running all day in full water-tribe clothes, and before that, she'd been in a box with Naga-

_Naga._

Korra started to cry, but Amon paid no heed. He walked ahead of her at a leisurely pace as Korra shed tears for the friend she'd probably never see again. He finally stopped in front of yet another door, opening it to reveal a small metal-encased room, with a showerhead protruding from the far wall. The floor was still slightly damp. There was soap resting on a shelf, and a towel in the corner closest to the door.

"Are you ready to make your next choice, Avatar? I really recommend you take option A this time, I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea…"


	3. Revelation

Earth. Fire.

Water. Air.

_Long ago, during the time of my father, Avatar Aang, the four nations were at war. With the help of his friends, Aang mastered all four elements and returned balance to the world, establishing the capitol of Republic city, a place where all benders and nonbenders could live together in harmony. Aang has since passed and the Avatar cycle has begun anew, his spirit living on in a vicarious young woman named Korra. It is Korra's duty as the Avatar to master the elements and restore balance, but can balance exist in a world where equality seems impossible? And now, it seems that she has vanished, just as Avatar Aang before her once had…_

"What is it now," Korra groaned, pounding her head against the wall.

"This one should be obvious, Avatar. If you waterbend in attempt to free yourself, you will not be allowed to bathe on your own anymore."

"What are you going to do, give me a sponge bath!" she spat.

"I wasn't planning on it, unless you have some personal request or disobey my orders. By the way, you will be changing hands tonight. I do not have the time to supervise you for the time being.

Korra shot him a stink-face and stepped inside the room, slamming the door behind her. Stripping down her clothes and tossing them in the corner, Korra stared down at her calloused brown feet and wished she wasn't the avatar right now. Had Aang ever felt that way? Probably when his people were annihilated. At least Amon hadn't killed anyone, she tried to console herself. He'd only yanked her around and said creepy things- who was she kidding, she wanted to be as far from him as humanly possible, not naked and separated by a doorway. Turning on the showerhead, she was met with a cold spray of water. She didn't care- Korra used to go skinny-dipping in the south pole. The water did warm up, however, and Korra started to lather her dirty body, then scrub it, then rub it as raw as possible.

She remembered listening to the radio with Katara and laughing. Korra would sing along badly, as she had not inherited her mother's beautiful singing voice, and had heard people talk about singing in the shower being a fun distraction, so she tried her damnedest to forget where she was.

"I'll take you out into the city

Show you all the lights so pretty

Like all the elements combined

Baby you can bend my mind~'

The horribleness of her own voice became overwhelming and her need for something quiet and soothing took over. Katara had said she was more like Korra, and couldn't sing a lick, but taught her a few of the old songs that had since vanished from the radio. So instead of belting 'mindbender' she started to hum the first few verses of The Four Seasons song, switching off the faucet as it came to an end, bowing so her dark, wet hair hung in her eyes and dripped to the floor.

"Four seasons…for love," she whispered.

Korra tried to tell herself her face was wet because of the shower, and that her eyes stung because of soap. She grabbed the towel in the corner and wrapped it around her body- it was too small. She looked at her clothes- water had trickled across the floor and soaked them. Now she had no idea what to do. Amon was out there waiting for her, and her breasts looked ready to burst out of the flimsy cloth.

She opened the door a crack.

"Amon?"

"Amon's not here," said a slightly annoyed voice. Korra was happy to hear it was female. She threw the door open, almost losing her towel.

"Here's a change of clothes. Put this on, and then follow me to your room."

Korra went back into the shower room and dressed quickly, snapping up the double-breasted green shirt and pulling the skintight pants over her bottom half. The latter hardly fit due to the size of Korra's hips. The entire outfit felt too small, actually, especially the arms, so she ripped them off, towel-dried her hair, put it back into its regular ponytail, and picked up her dirty clothes.

When she opened the door again, the equalist girl gave her a weird look, probably because of the missing sleeves. Korra hugged her watertribe clothes to her chest and gave her a friendly smile. The girl was only slightly older than her, with short black hair that parted to the side, amber eyes, and a lithe, uncurvy figure. Her head barely came up to Korra's chin. This was who Amon had sent to guard her? The girl immediately turned her heel and started walking.

"What's your name?" Korra asked as she followed her, hoping she could have some companionship around here.

"None of your business, Avatar," the girl replied. Pissed, Korra now wondered if she could take her down. She looked pretty small, after all-

"If you so much as bend a spark, I will disable your entire body and tie you up," the girl said emotionlessly.

"You're like half my size!" Korra said before she could stop herself. The girl ceased walking and turned slowly to face Korra.

"Chi-blocking is not about size, Avatar- it is about speed, accuracy, and knowing your opponent's vulnerabilities. Something you know nothing about."

"Korra."  
"What?"  
"My name is Korra, not Avatar," she said quietly. The girl's face softened for a moment before she continued walking.

"Shion," she offered vaguely. "Here's your room."  
Korra looked into the now open doorway to what appeared to be a tall wooden box. There was an elevated mat in the corner, a table with a radio, a few books on a shelf, and no windows, just a few lights on the walls. The worst part of the room was the giant poster of Amon looming over her bed, just to remind her that she couldn't escape his gaze anywhere.

She turned on the radio. It seemed odd that Amon would let her have one.

"Noru of the Badgermoles needs to get his head in the game- It's almost like he isn't even here tonight folks. Speaking of which, the rising stars of the Fireferrets haven't shown up to practice either. They're going to need to do better than that to make it to the finals- oh! And Khano has been knocked into the second zone!"

Korra was too tired. She twisted the dial off, knocking the radio over in the process, and passed out with her arm hanging over the edge of her bed.

The next thing she knew, there was a loud knock at her door.

"Go away, mom, I'm trying to sleep," she grumbled. The door slammed open, and her mother wasn't there- instead it was the easily irritated woman from last night.

"It's seven in the morning. Wake up."  
"Are you kidding?" Korra groaned.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

She didn't. Korra pouted.

"Mornings are evil."

Shion didn't laugh.

"Come get breakfast."

Korra followed. This time, there was an entire room of equalists sitting at the table. She felt worried and outnumbered at first, but it became clear that none of them had any idea who she was when a friendly-looking equalist turned towards Shion and Korra and flashed them a dazzling smile.

"Who is this lovely lady?"  
"Korra," Shion said shortly. She then sat at a nearly empty spot at the table far away from them and started to read a newspaper. A handsome boy with a jaunty lock of hair obscuring his eye grinned at them from the cover. "Wolfbats pegged to win another season" screamed the headline. Korra stared resentfully at her breakfast, but her stomach grumbled so loudly that she scarfed it down in seconds and belched loudly. The male equalist laughed, and Korra turned towards him hopefully. Shion was still eating and didn't seem to care.

"So you're a new recruit?" he asked her amiably.  
"I guess you could say that."  
"You must be pretty important, though, if you're tagging along with Shion. I'm Imu, by the way."

Korra shrugged.

"Korra."

"I only passed equalist training last week. Shion's a veteran…they say she's really good, but she doesn't really have any friends because of how she acts," he whispered conspiratorially. "Amon trusts her, though. I've never even spoken to Amon personally- I see him in the hallways sometimes, though, and he was there when we ranked up," Imu said as though walking past Amon in the hallway was a great honor.

Korra wanted to ask him what he liked about Amon, whom she saw as a disturbed lunatic, but knew that it would attract unwanted attention if she phrased it that way. Instead she said

"So…uh…Amon's pretty amazing," and Imu nodded rapidly, looking like he was going to lose his head from all the movement. "His speeches are incredible, and, of course-" he bent closer to her and whispered cautiously- "He can take people's bending away. How cool is that? He's doing a demonstration at the rally tonight!" They said he caught a bunch for Triad members and he's going to give them the chance to fight back, but trust me, I've seen Amon fight…I doubt even the Avatar could go toe-to-toe with him, you know?"  
Korra felt the contents of her stomach swirl unpleasantly. Before she could ask anything else, Shion made it known that she was finished with her food.

"Time to move forward."

And by move forward, Korra was locked back in her wooden cell of a room for hours, while Shion sat outside reading a book, her gasmask sitting on the floor next to her. Korra almost missed Amon. At least he was interesting. OK, so maybe she didn't miss him at all, but Shion made her lonely as hell.

And Amon-

The full brunt of what Korra had heard was finally hitting her. Amon could take away people's bending?

No, that was impossible. There was no way. She wouldn't believe it until she saw it. She needed proof.

That's right- he was going to demonstrate tonight. She had to save those triad members. Yes, they were criminals, but that didn't mean they deserved to be humiliated and possibly debended in front of all those people. The cogs in Korra's head started turning, and she paced around the room. She couldn't bend wood- she could destroy it but it would be noisy and dangerous. She turned up the radio, but the probending commentary wouldn't come on until later. Right now it was just firenation jazz. She kept it on anyway, and tore down the poster of Amon, burning it in her hands and relishing the flames eating away at his face. The radio played its upbeat tune.

_Flameo, Hotman!_

_Your touch is like fire_

_I'm hot for you Hotman_

_It's you I admire~_

Korra huffed and turned the radio off. Resigned for the time being, she started flipping through books for inspiration. One was about Chi, interestingly enough, And Korra read it intently, trying to learn where pressure points were located. Then she got bored and read "Love Amongst the Dragons," in which the lovestruck heroine threw herself into a volcano. She made a mental note to recommend it to Jinora when she got out of here.

Jinora. Spirits, she missed that kid, and all the people she was cut off from. What Korra needed was a friend on the inside. She looked at the doorway, and clasped her copy of "Love Amongst the Dragons" in her left hand, before knocking on the wood. It took a minute, but Shion answered the door.

"I'm sorry to uh…interrupt you…" Korra said awkwardly to the short-tempered equalist. "I was just…I noticed you reading earlier, and I thought you might be interested in this."

Korra thrust her book forward. Shion took it tentatively and looked at the title.

"Not bad, Avata- I mean, Korra. Maybe you aren't so awful after all."

They smiled at each other briefly. Korra gently brought her hand forward as though to shake the other girl's. Shion did the same. Down the hallway loomed another poster of Amon. Korra's stomach dropped. A racing thought struck her in the back of the head like an earth disk, and she acted without thinking.

"I'm sorry."

Shion looked perplexed.

Using the girl's confusion, Korra yanked the smaller woman's arm forward, bashing her head against the wall as Amon had done to her earlier. While Shion was dazed, Korra jabbed the back of her neck as the book she'd skimmed instructed, and Shion fell to the ground like a sack of bricks, her copy of "Love Amongst the Dragons" fluttering to the floor. Korra gazed at her own fingers, surprised it had worked.

_Oh Spirits now what._

Korra turned her body in a panoramic view of the area, looking out for other equalists, before throwing Shion over her shoulders, dragging her back into her room. Korra quickly started to tear apart her own bedsheets. She had to move quickly.

Shion's clothes would be too small for Korra, but the mask and armor fit just fine- it didn't matter anyway because Korra was already wearing equalist clothes, albeit without sleeves. Then she disarmed her- the short-haired girl had several concealed weapons on her person. Korra tied Shion as tightly together as possible with the shredded sheets and shoved another piece of cloth in her mouth- if she shouted for help, it might ruin her escape. A second thought occurred to her, and she turned the radio up, so it would sound like Korra was listening to music.

Doing this felt awful and unheroic. With a guilty look back, the disguised Korra exited the room, jogging down the hallway as inconspicuously as she could.

This was a Prisoner's area obviously, and while Korra had been given a nice room, there were heavily locked doors that led to deeper parts of the holding chambers all around. She spotted a guard leading a restrained and very depressed young man out of one of the areas. Before she could stop herself, she heard her own voice ringing out with authority.

"What are you doing?"

The masked equalist (she had forgotten she was one of them momentarily) turned towards her, shoving the boy forward like a herd animal.

"The fuck does it look like I'm doing? I'm letting him use the bathroom. Oh, I get it, you're one of those ones who thinks he should just use the cell, right? It stinks in there, man, and nobody wants to clean up bending scum's waste fluids, ok?"  
Korra made eye contact with the boy. Around her age, his face was round and amiable, with bright green eyes. There was a gash on his cheek. He looked so hopeless and desperate that she immediately felt a connection with him, a desire to help. He didn't look like an ordinary triad- he looked like someone caught up in the wrong crowd and scared for his life.

"Shion needs you in the south wing," Korra said as calmly as possible.

"Shion does?" the guard said suspiciously. "And what the hell happened to your shirt?"

"Fine, don't believe me. You know how she gets-"

"OK, OK. You take the big lug to the bathroom and back to his cell. I'll see what the queen bitch wants."

And so Korra took the prisoner, leading him as roughly down the hall as she could until the other guard vanished from sight.

"It's ok," Korra whispered into his ear. He jumped a mile, and Korra put her hands on his shoulders in attempt to calm him down.

"What are you going to do to us?" he quibbled.

"I'm not doing anything to you. I'm setting you free," Korra whispered, and turned him around so he could look at her. He seemed scared, and she remembered she was still masked.

"Why?" he whispered.  
"I'm not who you think I am," she told him, and withdrew one of Shion's knives from her boot, slicing away at the ropes that bound him.

"What's your name?"

"Korra," she whispered back, taking his now free hand and leading him down the hall as quickly and quietly as possible.  
Thank you Korra. It's nice to meet you."

"Same to you. Now let's get out of here."

The muscular young man stopped in his tracks.

"I can't," he said suddenly, and Korra turned to look back at him.

"Why the hell not?"

"I can't," he repeated. My brother is still in there."


	4. Revelation pt 2

Earth. Fire.

Water. Air.

_Long ago, the Avatar Aang restored balance to the world. With the new Avatar missing, who will help us reach equilibrium?  
_

Korra was exasperated.

"Listen," she whispered hurriedly. "I need you to get out of here and warn the council about this place. I promise I will look after your brother."

Footsteps started to echo at the end of the hallway.

"-Got the better of you?" came a deep, ominous voice. Korra surely felt her stomach drop ten inches.

"Please-" the boy started to beg.

"I promise!" she said urgently, giving him a look. "I promise I'll get him free."

"His name is Mako. I'm Bolin-"

"OK, now go, quickly!"

Korra earthbended a hole into the wall, revealing an empty room full of crates.

"You're an earthbender, right? This place is underground. Find the closest opening you can, run, and alert the council."

"Wait!"

"No time!" Korra hissed, pushing him into the room and earthbending it shut, just as the Lieutenant rounded the corner with a distant, pissed-off-looking Shion.

Korra raised her hands, prepared to fight her off.

"Go ahead, Shion, redeem yourself for me," the mustachio'd man said casually, and the light-footed girl launched forward at an incredible speed.

"Augh!" Korra screamed, attempting to block her with fire, which the other girl parted through like a curtain.

"Firebending is my specialty," Shion said coldly, and jabbed Korra's arms as she spoke, probably harder than necessary. "Maybe you should try something else for once. The equalist techniques you stole from us seemed to work better than your usual bullshit, Avatar," she said, aiming her small leg under Korra's so she was forced to jump, and punching her in the stomach as she attempted to kick up a block of earth. Korra feel to her side, gasping for air. She heard the metal clicking of footsteps coming towards her,stopping at the other girl's side.

"I won't tell him, Shion. Don't let it happen again. If she escapes, you certainly won't be a favorite anymore.

"Don't worry," the raven-haired girl said, looking at Korra's wide eyes with definitive cruelty. "I won't."

Shion pulled Korra to her feet, hissing in her ear.

"If you pull another stunt like that, Amon isn't the only one who will make your life a living hell. Now where is the earthbender?"  
"What are you talking about?" Korra said hazily.

"Don't bullshit me, _Korra_. The second Shun-tsu came looking for me I knew you took the prisoner. Where. Is. He?"

"Don't be so rough," the Lieutenant chided Shion, though from his voice he was obviously amused by the whole ordeal. Korra wondered if he was some sort of sadist when he chuckled.

"Gone," Korra said coldly, and she felt a stinging slap across her face. Shion backed away, usual composure shattered. She was breathing heavily, and looked enraged.

"What do I do, father?" she said, and Korra looked around in confusion. Then she realized Shion was speaking to the Lieutenant. "I made a mistake. I trusted her! You're right about benders. They're all liars!"

_Father?_

"You are to call me Lieutenant, Shion. Do not become sentimental- especially not in front of your enemies. This is why she outmaneuvered you."

The Lieutenant put his hand on the girl's shoulder very briefly, walking towards Korra, who was rubbing her cheek. She looked at him resentfully. She saw a hint of blue eyes behind his goggles, and black hair plastered to the forehead behind the mask. She tried to pick up on features- the sharp, thin nose (like Shion's nose?) the sneer of the mouth-

"Does he know you're the Avatar?'

Korra was startled.

"I forgot to tell him," she said, and the 'oh crap' look on her face must have given her away as truthful.

"If I feel for a second you're lying, I will turn you over to Amon. Where did he go?"

"Through the wall," she said quietly.

"He'll alert the metalbending police force. We'll have to change locations again," the Lieutenant told Shion, who still looked flustered. "It's not time to take them out just yet. I'll alert Amon."

"Will you tell him-"

"No, Shion. As I said, I'll protect you this time. Shun-Tsu will take the fall, as he did hand her the prisoner. But if you slip up again…I won't pity you. Do you understand?"

Shion nodded quickly. The Avatar watched her as the Lieutenant turned away, trying to move her sore arms. Shion's eyes were very bright, shining gold in the dim light.

_Is she crying?_

"Put her in with the other prisoners. We'll take her to the demonstration tonight."  
"It's still on?"

"In fact, this is a perfect opportunity for the demonstration. We will move while the police busy themselves with search warrants and paperwork- after all, what's one boy's word? When they finally get balls to search, we will have moved to one of Hiroshi's tunnels. They can distract themselves searching this place while we hold the demonstration- that boy doesn't know where it is. Shion…I told Amon you were a worthy babysitter for the Avatar. If you disappoint me again, you know the consequences."

Shion bowed her head. Suddenly, Korra felt awful.

"She may try to charm you, but benders are not our allies. Tie her hands behind her back, and her feet together, so she cannot bend.

"Is he taking her-"  
"Not tonight. Tonight will simply show the Avatar exactly who she is up against, and why she should not take us lightly. For now, let her fraternize with the other scum of her type."

Korra watched Shion's fists clench, as though she were fighting internally, holding something back.

"Come with me, Avatar," she said in a deep voice. Korra was startled. When she did not move immediately, Shion grabbed her hair and started to drag her.

"Hey- I can walk on my own-"  
"-and if you abuse that power, I'll take that away as well!" Shion said tremulously.

They walked down the hall, Shion letting go of Korra's hair when they were in a separate hall from the Lieutenant.

"Is he really your father?" Korra asked quietly.

"None of your business, Avatar."  
"You said it, not me-" Shion grabbed Korra's arm and stopped their trek in front of a wall, pushing a button so the metal slid upwards to revel a prison area.

"Shun-tsu," Shion said coldly. One of the masked guards, presumably the one Korra met earlier, rubbed the back of his head in sheepish alarm.

"Hey, that's-"  
"The Avatar, you imbecile. You almost let her escape- and you _did_ let the earthbender escape."  
"Hey, woah, how-"

"Go see the Lieutenant, Shun-tsu."

"I-I'm sorry- tell him I-"  
"Go! Now!" she snapped, and some of the other equalist guards looked at each other.

"Watch her! Make sure she does not escape. She is an underhanded manipulator-"  
_I'm not_! Korra thought to herself, looking around the room as Shion continued her orders. Everyone was masked. The prisoners were mostly looking away, bowing their heads, but one looked towards her- he had those bright firenation golden eyes and a chiseled, youthful face.

"Mako?" she mouthed. His eyes widened. She smiled at him. "Bolin is-" she started to mouth, but she was yanked back, ropes being wound around her body until she could scarcely breathe. She tried to struggle, but was prodded several times, until her torso was almost too weak to support itself, Mako made a movement as though he wanted to help her, but was too tightly restrained.

"We're moving them soon, and then we're changing locations" Shion told the rest. "Still, they're dangerous criminals. If anyone needs to use the bathroom from this point forward, they will use the cell."  
A bunch of equalists groaned. One of the prisoners groaned too. Korra was led into the cell with the weird conglomeration of mostly older men and Mako.

"Let Shun-tsu be an example to you all. Everyone knows what happens when you upset the Lieutenant."

Korra was tossed to the ground, right next to Mako. She felt thankful for this, because most of the other prisoners looked skeevy as hell.

"I hope you all enjoy tonight's demonstration," Shion said ominously, before turning her back to them, opening the metal doorway to the lightness of the hall, and stepping out as they were once again cloaked in gloom.

Meanwhile the boy called Bolin was running for his life through the city. He knew he was being followed, so he stayed on the busiest streets he could find, until he reached the council building, panting and out of breath. He looked into every shadow he could, every alleyway, before he approached the lavish entrance, where two men stood with spears which were probably more for decoration than function.

"I need to talk to the council," he quibbled, wide-eyed and sweaty. "There are terrorists called Equalists who are out to get all benders!"

The guards in front of the building looked at each other in amusement. One even laughed a little.

'I'm serious! There's a terrorist organization under the city-"

"What is going on?" came a bemused voice from behind. The guards straitened up in the doorway- Bolin turned around to look at a dapper man in powder blue robes, his odd choice of cologne sifting through the air and making the buff boy wrinkle his round little nose. Bolin immediately disliked him.

"There's a council meeting about to start, child, this is not a place for kids to hang out-"

"I'm…I'm not here to-"

"If you can't spit it out, I'll have you forcefully removed from the premises."  
"She told me to come here! To the council building! They took her, sir! They took her and my brother!"

One who could read the minutest of facial expressions might have noticed the way the waterbending representative's eyes grew small for a brief instant, like stones disappearing beneath rippling water and surfacing again. Bolin wouldn't have noticed, he was too upset, too naïve. The guards wouldn't have noticed, they were mostly idiots on display for the sake of keeping visitors out during meetings. The council members were all more than capable of handling themselves.

"What is your name, boy," the dark-skinned man said coldly, stooping down from his rather intimidating height to look him in the eyes.

"Bolin, sir. I play for the fireferrets in the probending arena-"  
"Ah, yes, the season's underdogs. I do follow probending occasionally. You made an impressive save in the last-"

"-There's a faction of chi-blockers under sector seven of the city, sir. They call themselves Equalists- They took a bunch of benders as prisoners and are going to do something with them tonight!"

The man's eyes, the same light blue as his coat, narrowed scrutinously.

"And you came here, and not the police station?"

"The girl who freed me told me to go to the council building."

There was something sadistic about the man when he smiled- his mouth was wide but remained close-lipped.

"Why should I believe such a far-fetched story?"

The councilman turned, bowing to the guards briefly. The parted as though to let him in. Bolin's body wracked in nervous desperation. He was going to cry. He knew it.

"He's my brother sir!" he shouted, big fat tears hitting the ground. "He's all I have!"

The councilman paused, back still turned, but stiffening. Then he made a gesture.

"Let him through," he said casually to the guards.

"The meeting-"

"The meeting can wait. Let him tell us about these so-called 'equalists.' Time will tell if he's lying."

Bolin couldn't believe his ears. His heart felt like it would leap out of his chest.

"Thank you sir! I love you!" he exclaimed.

"That's a bit much for me," he said with a bored sigh, and Bolin followed him into the airy building, with its tall columns and immaculate floors.


End file.
